BUSE launches new course

undergraduate courses to strengthen the country’s resilience to natural disasters.
BUSE Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Eddie Mwenje said the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction studies into the university curriculum would help to minimise the impact of disasters on vulnerable populations through promoting research on risk reduction initiatives that aim to save lives, protect livelihoods, assets and infrastructure.

“All countries of the world are becoming increasingly vulnerable to disasters whether large or small, industrial or agrarian, technologically sophisticated or traditionally focused,” he said.
“We are mainstreaming disaster education in the Bindura University curriculum and developing an undergraduate programme on Disaster and Development at this university. This is a welcome move that will enable the university to impart knowledge at a wider spectrum in Zimbabwe.”

The BUSE Geography Department in partnership with the British Council DelPHE fund held training workshops last week to map out ways to mainstream disaster risk reduction into the curriculum.
Participants identified the course content and fused it into the existing course outline in line with programme development regulations.

“We realised that we lack the material resource but we have certified knowledge to address disaster-related problems. As a university we believe the most effective way to increase the resilience of local communities to natural hazards is through research and education,” said Mr Desmond Manatsa, the chairman of the Geography Department at BUSE.

“We are consulting communities in Muzarabani so that we can get their views on disaster management and come up with programmes that will help increase their resilience to natural hazards before, during and after a disaster.”

He said the new Disaster and Development Studies would also include a community-based project that would be implemented within three years to give students practical experience and an insight into the nature of prevailing hazards in the Muzarabani district.

“We are working in partnership with our more experienced Disaster and Development Centres of Northumbria and BRAC universities in the UK and Bangladesh respectively,” said Mr Manatsa.
“We intend to have disaster management programmes from certificate level to post-graduate level in the near future. We want to impart knowledge and enhance the capacity of our students to become more conscious of disaster issues and be able to develop initiatives that enhance the resilience of local communities to natural hazards.”

Experts say Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that trigger them.

Zimbabwe faces a wide range of natural and human-made hazards that include veld fires, floods, drought, lightning, tremors and tropical cyclones which have in the past caused economic losses.
Areas particularly vulnerable and prone to flood-related disasters include areas along major rivers – Zambezi, Limpopo, Save and Msengezi. Southern parts of the country – Masvingo, Matabeleland North and South are prone to droughts while areas dotted along the northern borders are both prone to drought and floods.

Earth tremors threaten the eastern border regions as well as both Matabeleland provinces.
“While by world standards Zimbabwe cannot be regarded as highly disaster prone in terms of deaths and injuries caused, the cost of the disasters that have affected this country in terms of property destruction, social and economic loss has been significant,” said Prof Mwenje.

“The cost can be expected to increase unless effective measures are taken to deal with such emergencies and disasters.”
Disaster studies, Mr Manatsa said, would offer education, research and advice on the issues of natural disasters, the relations between social problems and processes of development, and the dynamics of aid interventions during and after disasters. The studies would also examine indigenous knowledge systems as part of coping mechanisms for local communities.

“The studies will contribute with qualitative research to multi-disciplinary approaches. Disaster Studies will also combine academic teaching and research with a desire to enhance policy discussions and local and international responses to disaster and emergency situations. Research is interactive in nature and builds on dialogue with policymakers and people in the field,” he said.

“These initiatives will both mitigate the hazards affecting the community or households as well as build the resilience of the community to those hazards.”